Risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in south-west Burkina Faso: potential impact of expanding eligibility for seasonal malaria chemoprevention

Yaro, J. B. et al. (2022) Risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in south-west Burkina Faso: potential impact of expanding eligibility for seasonal malaria chemoprevention. Scientific Reports, 12, 1402. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-05056-7) (PMID:35082312) (PMCID:PMC8791962)

Abstract

Burkina Faso has one of the highest malaria burdens in sub-Saharan Africa despite the mass deployment of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and use of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in children aged up to 5 years. Identification of risk factors for Plasmodium falciparum infection in rural Burkina Faso could help to identify and target malaria control measures. A cross-sectional survey of 1,199 children and adults was conducted during the peak malaria transmission season in the Cascades Region of south-west Burkina Faso in 2017. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for microscopically confirmed P. falciparum infection. A malaria transmission dynamic model was used to determine the impact on malaria cases averted of administering SMC to children aged 5–15 year old. P. falciparum prevalence was 32.8% in the study population. Children aged 5 to < 10 years old were at 3.74 times the odds (95% CI = 2.68–5.22, P < 0.001) and children aged 10 to 15 years old at 3.14 times the odds (95% CI = 1.20–8.21, P = 0.02) of P. falciparum infection compared to children aged less than 5 years old. Administration of SMC to children aged up to 10 years is predicted to avert an additional 57 malaria cases per 1000 population per year (9.4% reduction) and administration to children aged up to 15 years would avert an additional 89 malaria cases per 1000 population per year (14.6% reduction) in the Cascades Region, assuming current coverage of pyrethroid-piperonyl butoxide ITNs. Malaria infections were high in all age strata, although highest in children aged 5 to 15 years, despite roll out of core malaria control interventions. Given the burden of infection in school-age children, extension of the eligibility criteria for SMC could help reduce the burden of malaria in Burkina Faso and other countries in the region.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This project was supported by the Wellcome Trust (Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award “Improving the efficacy of malaria prevention in an insecticide resistant Africa (MiRA)” to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine grant agreement number 200222/Z/15/Z). SWL and ALW are supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/R00532X/1) award to the BOVA Network (Building Out Vector borne diseases in sub-Saharan Africa). AT and JB received support from the UK MRC and the UK DFID (#MR/R010161/1) under the MRC/DFID Concordat agreement and as part of the EDCTP2 programme supported by the European Union.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: SANOU, ANTOINE
• Authors: Yaro, J. B., Tiono, A. B., Ouedraogo, A., Lambert, B., Ouedraogo, Z. A., Diarra, A., Traore, A., Lankouande, M., Soulama, I., Sanou, A., Worrall, E., Agboraw, E., Sagnon, N.’F., Ranson, H., Churcher, T. S., Lindsay, S. W., and Wilson, A. L.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 12: 1402
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License